Supreme Court Grants Bail in Sahara Group Money Laundering Case, Orders Charges Framed in 4 Months
The Supreme Court has granted bail to an accused in a money laundering case tied to the Sahara Group, setting aside an order of the Calcutta High Court that had rejected his bail plea.
A Division Bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and Prasanna B. Varale allowed the appeal after noting that the appellant had been in custody for about one year and three months, that cognizance was yet to be taken against him, and that the trial would take considerable time to finish. On those grounds, the Court held that his continued incarceration was not required.
The bail was granted on the terms and conditions to be imposed by the trial court. The Court also directed the trial court to frame charges within four months from the date it receives a copy of the order.
The case, M.L. Case No. 11 of 2025, arises out of ECIR No. KLZO-I/21/2023 registered by the Enforcement Directorate for offences under Sections 3 and 4 read with Section 70 of the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002. The Special Court had rejected the appellant's regular bail application on 22 December 2025, following which he moved the Calcutta High Court in CRM (R) No. 16 of 2026. The High Court dismissed that plea on 24 July 2026, prompting the appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Court noted the Enforcement Directorate's contention that the appellant had misappropriated huge amounts of funds even though the transactions were being monitored by the Supreme Court. It also observed that other accused persons who had been arrested had been granted bail, while many others had not been arrested so far. Noting that the trial was at a nascent stage and would need substantial time, the Court concluded that keeping the appellant in custody was not necessary.
The Supreme Court set aside the High Court's order of 24 July 2026 and allowed the appeal, disposing of any pending applications.
The appellant was represented by senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and D.S. Naidu, along with advocates Arshdeep Singh Khurana, Aditya Chopra, Naman Tandon, Sahil Sood, Annada Dubey, Shivani Sharma and Barani Bharathi B. The Enforcement Directorate was represented by Additional Solicitor General Suryaprakash V. Raju, senior advocate Zoheb Hossain, and advocates Annam Venkatesh, Sairica S Raju, Animesh Upadhyay, Amrish Kumar, Arvind Kumar Sharma and Dr Arun Kumar Yadav.
Source: SCC Times